# (Ken Burns) Country Music Documentary **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 16, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317 "2019-09-16T15:26:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/141 "2019-09-27T21:08:08Z")
I know they ended with Cash dying. I’m saying I would like it to keep going. I think theres an audience out there who would watch a, say…Part 2. I don’t have to take a college course. I have PBS and the SD. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/142 "2019-09-27T21:11:58Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Maybe that’s because the program ends with the deaths of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash in 2003. Eric Church’s career didn’t even start until 2005 and Stapleton wasn’t a visible presence until 2007. To chime in, I believe the final episode is subtitled “1983-1996”. It doesn’t really try to be comprehensive beyond 1996 and only follows a few threads (culminating in Cash’s death) up to 2003. So any artist that emerged after the early 90’s isn’t logically going to get covered. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/143 "2019-09-27T21:22:39Z")
As said in the OP, I have always liked some country music, but often prefer other genres. I liked the series since I didn’t know the full, basic history and many of the finer points. I’m sure I still don’t, since 16.5 hours is not much, and would also like to see more. But this can’t be the only documentary on country music. And presumably some of the others are good, and cover more modern fare. So what ones are good? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/144 "2019-09-27T21:58:50Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > But this can’t be the only documentary on country music. And presumably some of the others are good, and cover more modern fare. So what ones are good? The _American Experience_ episode [_The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken_](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/carterfamily/) is great. Lot more on them. And that page has links to similar stuff, which has links … The influence of this family on “Country” music cannot be understated. Also, go listen to [_The Church in the Wildwood_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Ojam9JA7I). One of **Mrs. FtG** ’s favorite songs. Sure, Dolly Parton and everybody covered it, but the original has a singing style that none of the rest do. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/145 "2019-09-27T22:24:39Z")
I actually bought a 3 volume compilation of Carter Family music recently. I have a few country compilations with a few of their songs. What I want, though, is not necessarily another documentary of the roots, although this may be fine. Is there something, say, highlighting country music after 1970 or 2000 in some detail? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/146 "2019-09-27T23:38:30Z")
[This '93 CBS special “The Women of Country”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP1LJ5XwWVw) might be of interest. [And here’s “The Queens of Country” from the BBC](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A5sAvmAw9Q), I guess covering the Sixties and Seventies. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/147 "2019-09-28T00:04:02Z")
How about eight (?) hours of Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood, [coming to A&E later this year](https://theboot.com/garth-brooks-the-road-im-on-a-and-e-series/)? ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/148 "2019-09-28T01:33:51Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > The _American Experience_ episode [_The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken_](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/carterfamily/) is great. Lot more on them. And that page has links to similar stuff, which has links … > > The influence of this family on “Country” music cannot be understated. Also, go listen to [_The Church in the Wildwood_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Ojam9JA7I). One of **Mrs. FtG** ’s favorite songs. Sure, Dolly Parton and everybody covered it, but the original has a singing style that none of the rest do. I have never heard that version of Church in the Wildwood before; thank you so much for sharing it. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/149 "2019-09-28T01:47:17Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > The _American Experience_ episode [_The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken_](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/carterfamily/) is great. Lot more on them. And that page has links to similar stuff, which has links … > > The influence of this family on “Country” music cannot be understated. Also, go listen to [_The Church in the Wildwood_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Ojam9JA7I). One of **Mrs. FtG** ’s favorite songs. Sure, Dolly Parton and everybody covered it, but the original has a singing style that none of the rest do. Nice! ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/150 "2019-09-28T02:36:48Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Seriously - would any of you describe what Bill Monroe played as country music? Or maybe I’m betraying sentiments too close to Bob, who plays “both kinds” at his Country Bunker! 😉 Yeah, I’d describe everything Monroe did as country music. Bob Wills too. I can’t imagine describing either as anything but country. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/151 "2019-09-28T06:18:55Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > What A.P. carter was doing was called ‘Song collecting’. He was trying to cash in on copyright money. It was widespread. When radio and recording became easier to do folks went crazy trying to get things recorded first. There was bound to be things stolen during that time. But, if ol’ Uncle Joe in the backwoods with no electricity sang it for them how was he gonna ever know? He had no radio and was old. No one to bring a lawsuit about copyrights. > I imagine people who collected songs justified by saying they were preserving the music for prosterity. I’m sure they did, but at the same time they showed what a lavish lifestyle that family was living based on this “collecting”. They should have at least given these hillbillies a few bucks after getting them to play the song for them. They were living high on the hog off of intellectual property they got very poor people to naïvely turn over to them. That just doesn’t sit right with me. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/152 "2019-09-28T07:42:29Z")
The Carter family were not rich by any account I’ve heard or read Who knows they may have paid them a tiny amount. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/153 "2019-09-28T07:43:38Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [And here’s “The Queens of Country” from the BBC](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A5sAvmAw9Q), I guess covering the Sixties and Seventies. That was fun to watch. I don’t recall the Ken Burns program ever mentioning Bobbie Gentry having a TV show on the Beeb or her duets with Glen Campbell. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/154 "2019-09-28T08:33:10Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > The Carter family were not rich by any account I’ve heard or read > Who knows they may have paid them a tiny amount. I thought you watched this documentary, specifically the first episode. If they paid them anything, everyone talking about the “song collecting” failed to mention that part. And it showed the Carters reaping big financial rewards from the copyrights, and the women buying motorcycles and so on. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/155 "2019-09-28T08:44:26Z")
Wiki sez: > [@](#): > > The band received $50 for each song recorded, plus half a cent royalty on every copy sold of each song for which they had registered a copyright[…] > By the end of 1930 they had sold 300,000 records in the United States. Realizing that he would benefit financially with each new song he collected and copyrighted, A.P. traveled around the southwestern Virginia area in search of new songs So they sold 300,000 records before he even started the “song collecting” in earnest. No further sales numbers are given, but I think it’s safe to say he ended up a lot better off financially than the people whose songs he “collected”. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/156 "2019-09-28T18:01:21Z")
So they started the 2d ep w/ a bluesy version of a Stephen Foster song. The guys I picked w/ this a.m. pretty much agreed it was an expansive definition of “country”, but enjoyable nevertheless. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/157 "2019-09-28T21:54:34Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I’m sure they did, but at the same time they showed what a lavish lifestyle that family was living based on this “collecting”. They should have at least given these hillbillies a few bucks after getting them to play the song for them. They were living high on the hog off of intellectual property they got very poor people to naïvely turn over to them. That just doesn’t sit right with me. How much did Aaron Copland pay the Amish for taking their hymn [Simple Gifts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLAnuG1340g) and dropping it into [Appalachian Spring](https://youtu.be/WVahuS9hk_s?t=1086)? Sad to say, the history of music is replete with people ripping off traditional folk songs and turning them into moneymakers. Feel more sorry for W.W. Fosdick and George R. Poulton, who clearly published [Aura Lea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aura_Lea)during the Civil War, and didn’t even get a mention when _Love Me Tender_ came out in 1956. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2019, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/158 "2019-09-29T00:31:15Z")
Haven’t seen it, but I hear tell Gary Stewart got nary a mention. Any “country music” retrospective that fails to mention Gary Stewart just ain’t no part of nuthin’. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2019, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/159 "2019-09-29T01:45:54Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Wiki sez: > > So they sold 300,000 records before he even started the “song collecting” in earnest. No further sales numbers are given, but I think it’s safe to say he ended up a lot better off financially than the people whose songs he “collected”. I agree with you they were ‘better’ off those people who had the songs. But rich is not how I would describe them. Again they probably justified it by saying they were saving the songs for future generations. It’s all relative. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2019, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/160 "2019-09-29T01:49:24Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > Haven’t seen it, but I hear tell Gary Stewart got nary a mention. Any “country music” retrospective that fails to mention Gary Stewart just ain’t no part of nuthin’. Is he that guy with the weird vibrato voice? No mention that I’m aware of. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317.md?page=9)